Liu Zongyuan's Yuxi is in Hunan, in the fields of Yongzhou, Hunan. One day in early spring and February, we crossed the falling rain line and drove straight to Yuxi. Through the window, Xiaoshui River is like a long river, winding from ancient times and gently drifting towards Xiangjiang River. After crossing Pingdao and Ximen, a little further, on the west bank of Xiaoshui, a trickle full of aura appeared in front of us. This is Yuxi who accompanied Liu Zongyuan day and night.
Looking around, on both sides of Yuxi today, the towering old trees have disappeared without a trace, only sparse green willows and pink flowers are smiling in the rain; Yuxi Bridge in Xikou, 1000 years, still stubbornly keeps its back bend, as if to prove to passers-by that Yuxi, which once flowed in Liu Zongyuan's heart, still has feelings of 1000 years.
Walking along the stream is uneven, just like Liu Zongyuan's bumpy career and mental journey.
Liu Zongyuan was clever and diligent since childhood. 2 1 year-old was admitted to Jinshi, and his career began. He was famous for his sharp thinking and sharp words at that time. When he was an imperial adviser, he wanted to rectify the decadent and dark officialdom, so he joined the "Wang Group" which advocated innovation with the famous poet Liu Yuxi and actively participated in the "Yongzhen Innovation". However, the deep-rooted hatred of the conservatives in the DPRK and China finally turned the dream of "eternal innovation" into a worry of failure. After the failure of Yongzheng Innovation, 33-year-old Liu Zongyuan was demoted to Shaozhou Sima. On his way to his post, he received another letter from Sima Yong Zhou. Liu Zongyuan, full of sadness and helplessness, had to submit to humiliation and rushed to Yongzhou with his mother and cousin in their 70 s.
In the eyes of the world, Yongzhou is a wild land. But in this wild land, Liu Zongyuan stayed for 10 years. 10 years, he has been eager to make a comeback, waiting for the day when he swore allegiance to the court. In Liu Zongyuan's own words, it is "to live like Zhang Fan and Hou Jing, and to plant paint in the South Garden and become a unique device". Day after day, year after year, after waiting for 10 years, Liu Zongyuan and others came to Liuzhou, which was even more desolate and remote than Yongzhou at that time!
Liu Zongyuan was demoted to Yongzhou for 10 years, which was the period with the most vigorous vitality, the richest thoughts and the highest literary achievements in his life. There are more than 600 works handed down from ancient times, of which nearly 400 were created by him in Yongzhou. 10 years, he is optimistic and open-minded. In the face of repeated teasing of fate, he often amuses himself, laughs at himself and accepts it calmly. His travels have traveled all over the mountains and rivers of Yongzhou, and his personal feelings have been integrated into the mountains and rivers of Yongzhou, to the point where things have changed. In "Journey to the Yellow River", he wrote: "North to Jin, west to Yi, east to Wu, and south to the turn of Chu and Yue, among which there are more than 100 famous mountains, rivers and countries, but it is absolutely impossible."
Yuxi at the foot was originally named Ran Xi. After traveling, Liu Zongyuan liked the tranquility, harmony and beauty here, so he lived in a house by the stream and renamed Ran Xi Yuxi. This is the origin of Yuxi. He thought he was demoted to Yongzhou because he was too "stupid", so he named Yuxi and its nearby mountains, springs, ditches, ponds, islands and pavilions as "stupid" and called them "eight fools". He has a soft spot for Yuxi and thinks that he is the same as Yuxi: "Its flow is too poor to be irrigated; It's steep and rocky, and big ships can't get in. " It doesn't matter if you are a fool who doesn't contribute much to the world; But the water in Yuxi, you can see everything, and it is crystal clear. Although stupid, but proud enough!
Liu Zongyuan wanted to live on the edge of Yuxi all his life, so he wrote "Xiju" and wrote his own mind: "You can fish in the pond, grow millet and drink, and you are a citizen of Yongzhou." Yes, I have lived on the edge of Yuxi all my life. What's wrong with smiling at the clouds? I think Yuxi belongs to Liu Zongyuan.